:00:00. > :00:00.him of using celebrity connections to bully and manipulate girls and
:00:00. > :00:00.women into sexual acts. He denies the charges. Now, it is time for
:00:07. > :00:22.Asia Business Report. A Chinese solar panel company says
:00:23. > :00:26.it can't pay up, and we find out what that means and why it matters.
:00:27. > :00:36.And, diamonds. They are supposed to be for ever, so why are some
:00:37. > :00:41.companies in India losing hope? Welcome to this Friday edition of
:00:42. > :00:44.Asia Business Report. We start in China, where we could see the
:00:45. > :00:51.country's first ever corporate bond default. A Chinese solar panel maker
:00:52. > :00:56.has already warned that it would be able to pay about $14.5 million in
:00:57. > :01:01.interest that is due today. Chinese solar panel firms have performed
:01:02. > :01:08.poorly in the past, but are often rescued by the government. Earlier,
:01:09. > :01:14.I asked what this meant for the mainland. It is important that this
:01:15. > :01:24.is happening when the NPC is going on, the national People's Congress.
:01:25. > :01:27.It seems that this default has the tacit approval of the people right
:01:28. > :01:36.at the top. That means that the Chinese are now going to lie, --
:01:37. > :01:42.they are going to allow this default. The question is, are they
:01:43. > :01:47.going to do is? They will allow one default, and in the future will they
:01:48. > :01:51.allow more bailouts? It has become a systematic in. You think it will be
:01:52. > :01:55.used as an example, simply because the NPC is going on at the moment?
:01:56. > :02:19.We heard leaky chains yesterday that the country needs painful reforms --
:02:20. > :02:24.Lee -- Li Kequiang. This will address a major problem in China,
:02:25. > :02:29.which is overcapacity in many issues.
:02:30. > :02:36.The European Central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate at a
:02:37. > :02:39.record low, at 0.25%. Interest rates have remained unchanged since
:02:40. > :02:46.November 2013. In January, inflation slowed, and that prompted worries of
:02:47. > :02:52.deflation. The US department of justice has
:02:53. > :02:57.launched an anti-trust investigation into a proposed buying of Time
:02:58. > :03:10.Warner cable. It would see one of the largest cable companies in the
:03:11. > :03:19.US joined forces with another. , -- ComCast has insisted it will not
:03:20. > :03:23.reduce competition. The region of India is often caused
:03:24. > :03:26.the diamond capital. But times are tough, and other high-tech diamond
:03:27. > :03:32.factories are ripping us were in the world. We met traders there, to find
:03:33. > :03:40.out if diamonds really can be for ever. It is hard to imagine that
:03:41. > :03:46.amid the chaos and crowds here, treasures diamonds are being bought
:03:47. > :03:52.and sold. This is one of the busiest parts of the diamond market. This
:03:53. > :03:58.man is one of the small traders here. The fluctuation in the diamond
:03:59. > :04:02.market has made things tough over the past year. Our business gets
:04:03. > :04:06.messed up, and there is relativity in the exchange rate. We buy
:04:07. > :04:11.diamonds at higher prices, and then have to sell them at much lower.
:04:12. > :04:16.Small traders like us can't bear such losses. According to some
:04:17. > :04:20.estimates, eight out of every ten diamonds sold anywhere in the world
:04:21. > :04:25.are processed here, although India does not produce any diamonds of its
:04:26. > :04:29.own. The diamond industry here is worth over $25 billion, and it
:04:30. > :04:35.direct league employs around 700,000 people. Most of the diamonds that
:04:36. > :04:39.are processed here are exported, but it is also completely dependent on
:04:40. > :04:46.imports. When there is a fluctuation in the exchange rate, in immediate
:04:47. > :04:48.effect is felt here. Small and medium-sized enterprises dominate
:04:49. > :04:54.this business, and their profit margins aren't big. Typically
:04:55. > :05:01.between one -3%. So, they need financial backing to where the
:05:02. > :05:06.losses. TRANSLATION: We don't get loans from banks easily, and the
:05:07. > :05:10.government also does little to help small and medium companies.
:05:11. > :05:13.Recently, we were approached by leaders from other countries like
:05:14. > :05:17.Luxembourg and Belgium, who say they will give us finance and other
:05:18. > :05:21.infrastructure if we set up there. There is also competition from
:05:22. > :05:25.China, which has been slowly setting up high-tech diamond cutting
:05:26. > :05:31.companies. There are few modern firms here in India as well. For
:05:32. > :05:35.now, it continues to sparkle as the world's diamond capital, but it
:05:36. > :05:44.knows that it will need to shine brighter if it is to hold on to the
:05:45. > :05:46.number one spot. Small and medium-sized businesses
:05:47. > :05:51.are the backbone of many Asian economies, and for women and ever
:05:52. > :05:55.before at the helm, starting their own businesses and continuing family
:05:56. > :05:59.trade. International women's Day is being marked around the world this
:06:00. > :06:04.weekend. We speak to a small-business owner in Singapore,
:06:05. > :06:05.he says that being a woman in a male dominated world has given her
:06:06. > :06:20.business a competitive edge. Today, we will be doing Janet. We
:06:21. > :06:24.are on her third that too, it is just a follow-up. We are feeling in
:06:25. > :06:33.tiny little spots that need to be done. Basically, I'm just going to
:06:34. > :06:39.do a touchup. My grandfather came to Singapore in the 40s, and that is
:06:40. > :06:47.when he started Tatooine. He was the first pioneer artist in Singapore to
:06:48. > :06:53.start a too business. -- tattooed. After I took over the business, I
:06:54. > :07:06.decided it needed a new look, a lot of things needed to change from the
:07:07. > :07:11.typical stereotype that to shop. -- tattoo. We wanted to make sure
:07:12. > :07:18.anybody who walks in has a comfortable mindset and doesn't get
:07:19. > :07:21.scared. It is easier for men to approach people who just want a
:07:22. > :07:26.small tattoo, they don't want their whole body to be covered. There is
:07:27. > :07:31.no ego, it is not macho, that is what a more to do. Sometimes they
:07:32. > :07:35.feel very intimidated if they come in and see a big guy who is fully
:07:36. > :07:47.tattooed and all they want is a small one. I went in both ways. Male
:07:48. > :07:51.and female. -- win. I still work the hardest, I still work the longest
:07:52. > :07:54.hours. It is almost like I am still working for the family, doing this
:07:55. > :07:59.for the family business. It doesn't really feel like I am my own boss.
:08:00. > :08:06.Even though I call all the shots, ironically. More than 70% of Asian
:08:07. > :08:13.businesses are family-owned, and for centuries that ownership has moved
:08:14. > :08:24.down a male line. Today, women are increasingly taking on family trade.
:08:25. > :08:28.One specific role stands out. The eldest daughter is often given a lot
:08:29. > :08:35.of responsibility both with keeping the family together, making sure the
:08:36. > :08:42.parents are well taken care of, and in many cases the eldest daughter
:08:43. > :08:48.becomes the father's right-hand person, if he runs the main
:08:49. > :08:55.business. The eldest daughter can in many cases more trusted than even
:08:56. > :08:59.the sons, even though the eldest son may be expected to take over the
:09:00. > :09:04.business. That's right, because the men often inherit these businesses,
:09:05. > :09:12.don't they? When facing the outside world, the women are behind the
:09:13. > :09:16.scenes. There is a special trust in the eldest daughter, because she is
:09:17. > :09:23.not experienced as a competitor, she is not directly compare to him. It
:09:24. > :09:27.can be a very close relationship. To the extent that the daughter is an
:09:28. > :09:34.extension of the Father, the father sees her as an extension of himself.
:09:35. > :09:40.She can be asked to do anyone of a wide of tasks. In many cases,
:09:41. > :09:44.especially now, women in their 20s, 40s or 50s, have been very well
:09:45. > :09:49.educated, have experience working in the West, and then have responded
:09:50. > :09:55.when a father has said I need you to help me. I need to bring you in to
:09:56. > :09:57.help me out. Let's have a quick look at the market.
:09:58. > :09:59.help me. I need to bring you in to help me out. Let's have a quick A
:10:00. > :10:17.positive close on Wall Street, and a good US jobless numbers is helping
:10:18. > :10:22.to lift numbers. We know that the weaker yen helps to lift markets.
:10:23. > :10:25.The Hong Kong market has opened and that is also trading higher at the
:10:26. > :10:38.moment. You can follow us on Twitter, and go to BBC website.
:10:39. > :10:47.Our top stories: In their second lengthy phone conversation in six
:10:48. > :10:51.days, President Obama has again told Vladimir Putin that Russia's actions
:10:52. > :10:54.in Crimea are a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. The British
:10:55. > :10:59.government has ordered an enquiry into allegations of corruption and
:11:00. > :11:02.surveillance during the investigation of the murder of
:11:03. > :11:03.Stephen Lawrence. We stay with that